Fulham have seen both cup runs come to an end in the space of four days after suffering a defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday night, with Sasa Lukic handed a rare start.
Marco Silva decided to make sweeping changes to the team that drew with Liverpool on Wednesday after narrowly missing out on a trip to Wembley.
However, commentating on the match for ITV, Lee Dixon wasn’t overly impressed with the Serbian international.
Rodrigo Muniz made a rare start while Silva was able to reintroduce Tim Ream to the starting line-up.
Goalkeeper Marek Rodak was in between the sticks once again and made several good stops.
Fulham were the better team for much of the match but simply lacked that cutting edge in the final third.
Muniz was lively but never displayed that striker’s instinct that Fulham desperately needed, while Harry Wilson going off injured before half-time is a real concern.
Silva handed Joao Palhinha a rest which meant Sasa Lukic was brought in alongside Harrison Reed for Fulham against Newcastle yesterday.
He looked a bit short of match sharpness which isn’t a surprise considering how little he’s played in recent months.
Dixon was quick to point out that he didn’t look quite up to the pace of the game in the first half.
However, he is far from at fault for a second consecutive cup defeat at the Cottage this week.
Lukic looked slow for Fulham against Newcastle
During a rare foray forward for the visitors in the first half, Lukic stepped in for Antonee Robinson at left-back after the American international had pushed up the pitch.
He managed to thwart a Newcastle attack, however, Dixon said: “Didn’t look very mobile then [Sasa] Lukic. He looked like he was towing a caravan tracking back then!”
While a holding midfielder isn’t required to be quick across the pitch, Silva tends to put a lot of emphasis on his number six covering large swathes of the pitch.
Alongside Harrison Reed, there was less need for Lukic to cover as much ground as Palhinha normally does for Fulham against Newcastle.
However, he didn’t deliver the killer long passes that the Portuguese regularly plays to relieve pressure and shift the ball out wide when required.
Unquestionably, Fulham’s performances dip when Palhinha isn’t in the team and it’s unfair to expect Lukic to be able to match his levels.
He played his best football for his previous club Torino in a more advanced position so being forced to shield the back four possibly doesn’t get the best out of the 27-year-old.
Unfortunately, with Fulham now out of both cups, it’s hard to see Lukic playing too many more minutes this season.